REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR OF Eisinia fetida andrei BOUCHÉ, 1963 (LUMBRICIDAE) AND Eudrilus eugeniae (KINBERG, 1867) (EUDRILIDAE), IN WINTER AND SPRING, FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES

Abstract

At the Aquaculture Department of the Instituto de Pesca, Fernando Costa Park, São Paulo city, São Paulo state, Brazil, through experiments it was verified, aiming at finding new choices of alternative food for commercial frogherds, that Eisenia fetida andrei can be raised indoors, at room natural temperature, in cow manure, in winter and spring months. It was also verified that Eudrilus eugeniae did not tolerate the studied conditions in winter. The production of E. f. andrei fell in winter when compared with that in spring: in winter, from five individuals resulted 15.5 and 22.5 cocoons, in average, and in spring, from five, resulted 208.25 individuals and 11.5 cocoons, in average; in winter, from five, resulted 2.5 individuals of Eudrilus eugeniae and 9.5 cocoons, in average. It was concluded that E. f. andrei owns the potentialities to reproduce under thrifty conditions, widening the frogfarmers' choices of food, in the Southeastern Region of Brazil, in the referred seasons. The rate of viable cocoons in E. f. andrei was found to be 28% and the number of individuals hatching from one cocoon was 3.5, in average.